Rep. Ron Gant, R-Rossville, has undergone “successful surgeries” to his arms and hip following a fatal car wreck he was involved in last week, the Tennessee Journal reports. Gant was traveling south on Highway 18 in Hardeman County when another SUV crossed the center line and struck him head-on. The other driver died in the crash. According to posts on Gant’s Facebook page, the representative and his family are waiting to hear if he will need additional surgeries. The posts say Gant is “resting comfortably in the ICU in stable condition.”

This year’s Juvenile Law Basics forum will take place on Nov. 8. This virtual program is designed for newer juvenile and children's Law practitioners and will feature topics such as adverse childhood experiences and secondary trauma, guardian ad litem basics and neglect actions, guardian ad litem work in termination of parental rights cases, and much more. The forum will take place via Zoom from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. CST. Learn more and register for the program.

Witness an all-star lineup of women attorneys discuss resiliency in our profession during times of change, nontraditional legal careers, women supporting other women and much more during the “Raising the Bar” program on Nov. 10. Produced by the TBA Women in the Profession Committee, the in-person event will kick off with a keynote address from retired Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle on withstanding career adversity, overcoming challenges and growing from those experiences. Programming will run from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. CST at Baker Donelson’s Nashville office and will be immediately followed by a networking reception. Learn more and register for the program.

Former Knoxville prosecutor Hector Sanchez this week became Tennessee’s first Hispanic criminal court judge after he took the oath of office to serve the 6th Judicial District. “I’m excited to serve the citizens of Knox County,” Sanchez told Knoxville’s WATE 6. “I think inclusion is very important. I think diversity on the bench is important.” Sanchez is an honorably discharged Marine who earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He believes the core values he learned while in the Marine Corps – “honor, courage and commitment” – will translate into his courtroom. “…those are things every day I try to apply to every situation that I’m involved in,” he said. Sanchez was with the district attorney’s office before Gov. Bill Lee appointed him as a 6th Judicial District Criminal Court judge. He succeeds Judge Kyle Hixson who was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals – Eastern Section.

Knoxville lawyer Charles Michael Conroy died on Oct. 2. He was 76. Conroy was born in Clarksville and graduated from Vanderbilt University before going on to earn his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He practiced law in both Tennessee and Georgia. Conroy was a lifelong shell collector and had an extensive collection and knowledge of shells from around the world and especially Sanibel Island, Florida. Burial will be at Greenwood Cemetery in Clarksville. The day and time of the services and burial will be announced at a later date. Memorials may be made to the local chapter of the Parkinson’s Association.

Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) will host its annual fundraiser, the Justice for All Ball, on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. CDT. The event will be held at the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education in Memphis and will feature dinner from Chef Phillip Dewayne and entertainment from the Stax Music Academy Band, the Beale Street Flippers and the PC Band. Proceeds from the event will benefit MALS and support attorneys offering pro bono legal services to the underserved population in Memphis. For more information contact, please contact Kavron Bibbs-Newman, 901-255-3452. Read more here.

Alex Friedmann, a Nashville criminal justice advocate, was today sentenced to 40 years in prison for hiding firearms and other weapons in the walls of the Downtown Detention Center while it was under construction, the Tennessean reports. Friedmann admitted to the crimes, but his attorneys argued the state was overcharging him. He has prior felony convictions elevating the minimum punishment to 25 years in prison. Prior to sentencing, Friedmann wrote to Judge Steve Dozier detailing two incidents of rape while he was being held in the old county jail when he was 18. He said he hid the weapons out of an irrational fear that he’d be jailed again and subject to another rape. Sheriff Daron Hall rejected that claim in court today, saying Friedmann’s plot was to incite violence inside the jail. Friedmann also pleaded guilty to a federal gun possession crime and will be sentenced for that charge in January.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday heard arguments in a voting rights case in which plaintiffs allege the state illegally blocked a man from voting over a felony conviction in Virginia, even though his voting rights had been restored there. Ernest Falls was granted clemency for a felony conviction in Virginia and had his voting rights restored before moving to Tennessee. When he tried to register to vote in Grainger County in 2020, state officials said Falls failed to prove he had paid all court costs and restitution required by the state of his conviction. Falls never owed court costs or restitution in his Virginia case and the clemency grant fully restored his right to vote in Virginia. A Davidson County judge previously sided with the state in the case, finding "Tennessee law does not require that Tennessee reach the same result" as other states' decisions on voter restoration. The Tennessean has the full story.

The White House today announced that President Joe Biden will pardon all those convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law, The Hill reports. “There are thousands of people who have prior federal convictions for marijuana possession, who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result,” Biden said in a statement. “My action will help relieve the collateral consequences arising from these convictions.” White House officials urged governors to take similar action and told reporters that the pardon could benefit around 6,500 individuals. They added that no one is currently in federal prison for simple possession charges.

A preliminary hearing has been set for Cleotha Henderson, the man charged with abducting and murdering Memphis jogger and school teacher Eliza Fletcher last month, the Daily Memphian reports. Henderson, who also goes by the surname Abston, will go before General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Louis Montesi on Nov. 16. He is represented by public defender Jennifer Case. Henderson is charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence. If convicted, he could receive life imprisonment, life without parole or the death penalty.